Does the physical fitness impact academic achievement in school children?—An exploratory study

Abstract Background and purpose Physical fitness (PF) and physical activity (PA) appear to be a proposed way to improve global health, cognition, Executive functions and Academic Achievement (AA) in children and adolescents. Hence, the present study was undertaken to explore the relationship of Physical fitness with academic achievement among school children of Surat City. Results Within physical fitness components, a statistically significant negligible to weak positive correlation (“rho” value ranged from 0.04 to 0.26) was found for body composition, Muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and cardiorespiratory endurance with academic achievement. A statistically significant weak negative correlation (“rho” value ranged from 0.1 to 0.14) was found between agility and academic achievement. All correlations remain significant in Spearman’s partial correlations analysis model adjusted for age and socio-economic status except the correlation of flexibility with academic achievement in girls. Conclusion and clinical implications The findings of the study suggest that in schoolchildren, academic achievement is significantly influenced by different components of physical fitness. More opportunities need to be made to help parents, educators, and teachers to see the importance of PF in addition to education in this competitive society.